


It's destiny, my love – act II

by YouKeepMeRight



Series: Merthur a kiss a day challenge [9]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Flirting, Fluff, Good Morgana (Merlin), M/M, Merlin Needs a Hug (Merlin), Morgana is a good sister, Protective Merlin, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:20:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25652002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YouKeepMeRight/pseuds/YouKeepMeRight
Summary: Following a post on Tumblr, I will write a story every day for every prompt in the list. It's my first attempt to publish something like this, but I adore these two idiots too much to not try it.Day 9: a kiss that lasts so long, they are sharing each other’s breaths.
Relationships: Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Merthur a kiss a day challenge [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1831621
Comments: 5
Kudos: 62





	It's destiny, my love – act II

When Merlin arrived in Gaius chambers, the old man was focused on a potion that smelled like an old sock. He nearly jumped out of his skin hearing Merlin's voice.

"Hello Gaius!"

"Who the hell are you?" he shouted.

"I'm Merlin," the young man answered, looking around the room. Every available surface was cluttered with old books and other bits and bobs everywhere.

"Hunith's son? I didn't expect you until Wednesday!"

"It is Wednesday," replied Merlin. He was starving and didn't know how to politely ask to his mentor if he could devour those inviting berries on the table.

"Oh," Gaius sighed, "Well then, I'll show you your room"

While following him, Merlin accidentally bumped a vial, that was going to smash on the ground if Merlin hadn't use magic to save it.

"You..." said Gaius, holding his breath. "You have magic. Your mother told me about it in her letter. I didn't imagine it could be so powerful though. You didn't even use a spell. I have never met a sorcerer as fast as you were just now."

Merlin looked at him, unable to read Gaius' expression. He was worried that he might have overstepped. Instead, Gaius smiled, like a father who instantly forgives his son's mischief.

The old man put a hand on Merlin's shoulder and his face frowned, the lines around his eyes getting deeper. "You need to be careful, my boy. Camelot is the heart of the fight against magic, you should be extremely aware of that"

In that exact moment, there was a knock at the door and a man's voice asked: "Gaius, your young guest is requested before the King immediately".

Merlin and his mentor felt terror freeze their blood.

********************************************************************************

"Keep your head down and don't speak unless I tell you to, is that clear?" Gaius admonished Merlin just before they entered the council's room. Inside, the chamber was full of knights wearing long red capes and shining armour. At the opposite end of the room, the King perched fiercely on his throne, an inquisitive look across his face.

"Welcome, my friend," Uther greeted Gaius with a polite smile. _At least that is supposed to be polite_ , Merlin thought, _his smile looks more like that of a Dragon who laughs at you before eating you whole._

"What's the matter, my Lord?" Gaius asked, his head bowed. He was trying his best to hide his concern, but Merlin could hear a little tremble in his voice.

"It's about your young apprentice. What if I tell you I found out something quite interesting about him?" Uther asked. He was almost grinning now. Merlin felt a jolt of fear at that sight.

"What is it, your Majesty?" Gaius was now as tense as a bow ready to shoot.

"He will be the perfect servant for my son!" the King proclaimed triumphantly.

At those words, a young blond man emerged from behind the throne. He was staring at Merlin, grinning like an idiot. However, his smile wasn't like his father's at all. It had something predatory in it to be honest, but it was also challenging. Merlin felt equally intrigued and a little bit scared by it.

When Merlin recognised the prince though, he felt the impulse to run away as fast as he could.

"Oh no," he murmured. Gaius admonished him with a look.

After excusing themselves and returning to Gaius' chambers, the physician spoke to Merlin about the non-verbal conversation they had before.

"You can't refuse, Merlin! I know what the King said didn't sound like an order, but I can assure you it was"

"But I can't serve that idiot!" Merlin whined, "He will make my life a living hell! Gaius, he just wants to flirt with me!"

"What in the name of sanity are you talking about?" Gaius asked, confused by Merlin's words.  
The young warlock told Gaius everything about his first encounter with Arthur.

"Mmm, it's strange indeed" Agreed the old man. "But you know, I can understand his feelings. At his age I had my adventures too..."

Merlin jumped from his chair towards the door, shouting "I really don't want to know anything about it!". The door slammed behind him.

********************************************************************************

Once he was out in the streets, Merlin took a deep breath and wandered quickly around the citadel. He had arrived right at the entrance to the castle when a tall, red-dressed man drew his attention. The prince was confidently leaning against the wall, eyes trained on the young sorcerer. Wher Arthur spoke, however, his hands trembled slightly

"Merlin. It's settled then. Are you ready to begin tomorrow morning?" Asked the prince.

"What are you going to do?" questioned Merlin, meeting Arthur's blue eyes fiercely.

"I told you already. I intend to woo you. Have you got any idea of what your presence alone is doing to me?"

While speaking they drifted closer, so Arthur had only to reach out to grab Merlin by the arms and whirl them around to crush their bodies together against the wall. All the air in Merlin's lungs was taken away by that gesture, and Arthur nuzzling against the hollow of his neck was only making things worse.

"Your scent is intoxicating," Arthur whispered softly, his nose sniffing just behind Merlin's ear.  
The warlock's legs nearly buckled.

"I-I..." Merlin blabbed. Arthur withdrew instantly. He feared he had gone too far.

"Please accept my apologies," the prince said, caressing Merlin's face. "My feelings got the better of me. I swear I'll behave from now on. See you tomorrow."

Tracing his thumb across a cheekbone one last time, Arthur left a speechless Merlin to deal with his own thundering heart.

********************************************************************************

The next morning, Merlin entered Arthur's chambers after a sleepless night. He had tossed and turned, but he still couldn't understand what was going on between him and Arthur.

After opening the door as quietly as possible, Merlin looked up towards the huge canopy bed in the room. The sorcerer tiptoed closer to the bed. The young prince was sleeping prone and snoring like a bear. Merlin nearly burst out laughing hearing Arthur's noises. The view in front of him, however, was not funny, it was captivating; a ray of sunshine entered the window, shining on Arthur's hair like it was made of gold. His naked back looked as if it had been carved of the finest marble. Merlin felt the strange impulse to caress his skin, to feel if it was as smooth as it seemed.

"Like what you see?" Arthur's deep voice made Merlin jump. He wasn't really asleep then. Merlin felt himself blushing furiously.

He began to collect Arthur's clothes all around the room, mumbling, "I hate you".

"No, you don't," Arthur replied smugly, while going towards the other side of the room to change his clothes.

Later that morning, Merlin had had to look at Arthur while he showed everyone how skilled he was in the art of sword fighting. He had been mesmerized by Arthur's gracious movements. _He's so hot_ he had thought. _Wait, I should not have this kinds of fantasies about him. ___

__When training was over, Merlin had to polish Arthur's armour._ _

__"I know you'll care a lot about this armour, because you'll spend more time with it than with me in the next years," the blond said, pretending to pout, while passing him the armour._ _

__Merlin felt for a brief instant the impulse to laugh with him, but he restrained himself. He couldn't let his emotions overwhelm him._ _

__********************************************************************************_ _

__The next weeks passed without any problem whatsoever, apart from Merlin's sexual frustration. He had been arriving at Gaius' chambers always knackered and horny. Arthur kept being subtle, but his intentions were very clear: whether was a light touch or a prolonged eye contact, every moment with him was intoxicating._ _

__Once, Arthur even dared to hold Merlin's hand during a spectacular show put on by some of the most talented jugglers of the kingdom. While everyone was hypnotized by the artists, Arthur took Merlin's hand in his. The young warlock blushed but didn't let go. They stayed like that till the end of the performance, when they had to clap with the crowd in order to not be suspected. However, Arthur traced a vein on Merlin's hand with his thumb, before letting him go._ _

__The situation was becoming unbearable, until one day everything changed. It was a cold winter morning when the prince's younger sister, Morgana, stormed into the council room desperately shouting Arthur's name._ _

__"Oh, dear Arthur," she said breathlessly falling on her knees at her brother's feet. "Something terrible is going to happen to you! Your heart is going to be broken. I am so sorry," she sobbed._ _

__All the people in the council room were speechless, the King himself didn't know what to say._ _

__"Calm down Morgana," said Arthur while he stroked her hair. "Did you have another bad dream?"_ _

__She nodded; her eyes red with tears. Arthur helped her get to her feet, "Why don't you tell me all about it?"_ _

__Then he turned towards the King." Father, may I leave the council for a moment? I'd like to take care of this" the prince asked._ _

__"Of course," Uther answered him, gesturing towards the door._ _

__Meanwhile Merlin, who was waiting for the council to end on the other side of the hall, watched the scene from afar. He knew there was something wrong with Morgana'a dreams, and this was not the first time she had fortold something. This time the premonition seemed to be something terrible about Arthur. The young sorcerer felt a shiver crawl down his spine at the idea._ _

__Uther called Merlin's name, asking him to follow the two young Pendragons. He did what he was told, but he let Arthur and Morgana acknowledge his presence. He didn't want to act behind his prince back._ _

__"Morgana, what happened?" Arthur asked once they arrived in an empty corridor._ _

__"I dreamed about you, dear brother. There was fire all around the castle and you were crying and Merlin..."_ _

__"Wait!, Arthur interrupted her "What has Merlin to do with this?"_ _

__"I have no idea," Morgana replied, looking at the sorcerer like it was the first time she saw him.  
"But I am afraid he is going to be the one who breaks your heart.” With this enigmatic sentence Morgana left them to return to her room._ _

__"Are you? Going to break my heart, I mean," asked Arthur after a minute, while they were walking back to the council room._ _

__"How can I break something that was never mine?" Merlin said softly, knowing that this would be a moment of truth. He felt Arthur's longing towards him, but he was afraid they would have something merely physical._ _

__Arthur stopped walking and took Merlin's hand like he had done at the very beginning of their story._ _

__"How?" Arthur growled, his eyes shining with unshed tears. "How can you say something like that? What kind of stupid game do you think I am playing? I've put my heart on my sleeve since day one! I've made it obvious how much you mean to me, for goodness sake! I restrained myself because I was afraid to jump right into your arms every time I saw you. How can you not see how much I love you?"_ _

__Arthur leaned forward to bring Merlin's hand up to his lips, like he had done before. This time, however, he brushed the knuckles with a soft kiss for a few seconds more. The gesture was so vulnerable Merlin was unable to stop himself. Tilting Arthur's chin up with the same hand, he gently pressed his lips against Arthur's._ _

__Merlin's movements were shy at first, then he began to mirror Arthur's devoted passion and the kiss turned heated. Their hands grabbed at the back of each others tunics, their lips moving against the other's with desperate need. When Arthur's lascivious tongue began to move against Merlin's plumped lips, the sorcerer felt astounded for the unbridled joy that seemed to burst in his chest. The pure bliss of feeling each other tongue made them both moan. They were so hungry for each other they didn't even let a gulp of air escape from the other man._ _

__“You are so mesmerizing, I can't stay away from you any more” said Arthur in a breathy voice when they finally took apart. “But I think we need to move this towards a more private place, don't you?”_ _

__Their faces were still close, their hips aligned. Merlin felt dizzy with wanton need._ _

__“Yes,” Merlin agreed quietly, taking the hand Arthur was offering._ _

__When they arrived in front of Arthur's door, a sudden burst of wind blew out all the candles. Then a female figure wrapped in red and yellow flames appeared at the end of the corridor._ _

__“Arthur Pendragon!” she shouted. Everything went dark._ _

__********************************************************************************_ _

__When Merlin woke up, he felt a strong headache. However his first rational thought wasn't about his health._ _

___Arthur._ _ _

__He looked around, alarmed by the emptiness all around him. He seemed to be in a sort of cave. The air was cold and damp, and there was a soft blue light at the end of a tunnel. Trying desperately to do something useful, Merlin followed the light, only to find himself in a bigger cave._ _

__“Welcome, Emrys,” said the same silvery voice that pronounced Arthur's name before._ _

__“I don't care who you are,” told her Merlin gravelly, turning towards the female figure. She was now glowing with a blue light. “I only care about my lord's safety. If you've done anything to him...”_ _

__“Do not worry, great warlock. I took the both of you here to make you understand”._ _

__“Understand what?” Merlin was growing furious._ _

__“Look,” she said touching a crystal on the cave's wall. Instantly it began to glow like her body._ _

__Inside that crystal there were fragments of lives. His and Arthur's lives. Together, they were fighting terrible creatures, crying, arguing, making love to each other._ _

__“What was that?” asked Merlin bewildered._ _

__“That's what your life will be. I wanted to show it to you to let you know it would have been the same even without my spell,” the woman replied, coming closer to the young warlock._ _

__“A spell?” Merlin was flustered. He hadn't fall victim of an incantation, had he?_ _

__“I was her target” said a familiar voice behind Merlin's back. It was Arthur, a bit ruffled but otherwise unharmed. Merlin rushed towards him only to be stopped by Arthur's raised hand._ _

__“Please, listen to her before rushing things. Please, I beg of you” Arthur said apologetically._ _

__“I enchanted the young prince long ago,” the mysterious woman told Merlin while sitting on a huge stone. Her face was expressionless, like human emotions weren't part of her world. “When I died, I became this entity, made of pure energy. My only purpose was to tell you that Arthur Pendragon's love is genuine. My spell died with me. Everything happened after that comes solely from your prince's heart”_ _

__Merlin was listening to her with tears glistening in his eyes._ _

__“Do you believe her? Please tell me you do!” sobbed Arthur, his eyes equally red with tears.  
Merlin knew that magic couldn't lie to him. He felt it in his bones._ _

__“Of course,” Merlin said, rushing towards him. They threw their arms around each other in a heart stopping hug._ _

__“I will believe that your love it's true until my last breath,” Merlin promised before kissing him deeply._ _

**Author's Note:**

> I've tried to write something long-ish this time. Hope you liked how I wraped up this little AU for their first meeting.  
> As usual, I cound't be here without @mother-of-dragons' help. Thanks, you are amazing!


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